Grooved muntin bar



Sept. 11, 1956 J. w. BOWDEN GROOVED MUNTIN BAR Filed Dec. 11, 1953 R O T N E V m Jbhn Z0. Bowden United States Patent GROOVED MUNTIN BAR John W. 'Bowden, Irvington, N. Y., assignor to Lord &

Buruham, Division of Burnham Corporation, Irvington-on-Hudson, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application December 11, 1953, Serial No. 397,702

3 Claims. (Cl. '189-7 8) This invention relates to a building construction and more particularly to a muntin bar for use in structures H such as greenhouses and particularly on ventilating sash where the sash is composed mainly of lights of glass supported by a metal structure.

This invention is an improvement on my copending application Serial No. 371,436, filed July 31, 1953.

An object of the invention is to provide a structure including a muntin bar which will be simple to manufacture and which will be easily installed and assembled.

In greenhouse structures the control of moisture is most important and it is essential that the lights of glass be so set as to prevent any leakage or condensation from dropping on the plants in the greenhouse.

An object of the invention is to provide a sash structure in which the lights of glass may be readily installed or replaced in the event of breakage.

A still further object is to provide a structure in which the lights of glass are properly sealed at their edges so that there will be no leakage or possibility of rain being driven around the edges of the glass.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawing and description, in which- Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a sash embodying my improved construction.

Fig. 2 is a detailed cross-sectional view of the muntin bar.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a sash embodying my improved structure.

Fig. 4 is a detailed plan view of the lower portion of the sash.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, Fig. indicates a roof bar upon which is mounted the roof bar cap 11 having a hinge member 12 which engages the hinge plate 14 of the sash 15. The sash 15 is composed of a plurality of muntin bars 20. The muntin bar consists of a center piece 21 and two U-shaped glass supporting members 22. The hinge plate 14 is bolted to the respective muntin bars 20 by means of the bolt 16 and the nut 24 and at the lower end of the sash 15 a closure plate 23 is provided and secured to the side members by means of the bolt 16 and nut 24. A bracket 25 is secured to the closure plate 23 and an arm 26 is pivoted thereto to open and close the sash in the conventional manner. The arm 26 engages a lever arm 27 on a shaft 28 so that when the shaft is rotated the sash will be opened or closed as desired. The U-shaped glass supporting members 22 are larger than the lights of glass 30, and the lights of glass are provided with a suitable glazing medium such as a rubber molding 31 shown in Fig. 2. At the bottom of the sash on the plate 23 is a ridge or stop 33 against which the lower edge of the glass abuts. When the light of glass is to be placed in the frame the glazing medium or molding 31 is applied to the edges and the glass is slid in from the bottom into each frame. As soon as the light of glass is in position it is dropped against the stops 33 to prevent it from sliding downward- 1y. Thereafter a sealing member 35, which may be rubber tubing or similar material, is inserted within the 2,762,475 Patented Sept. 11, 1956 "ice members 22 to hold the light of glass firmly in place and to prevent any leakage around the edges.

The hinge and closure portions of the sash shown in the accompanying drawings are substantially similar to those shown in my co-pending application Serial No. 371,436, and it will be understood that the lower end of the muntin bar is cut away to where it engages the plate 23 to provide a proper connection secured by the bolt 16 with the nut 24 of the bolt seated in the groove of the muntin bar. The cut away end of the muntin bar abuts the hinge plate 14 and the closure plate 23 so that with a single bolt a rigid structure is provided.

This improvement does away with the necessity of dismantling the frame in order to insert or replace the lights of glass which is necessary in structure heretofore provided. It also mounts the glass in a relatively permanent seat and yet provides flexibility against expansion and contraction.

While I have shown and described my invention as applied to a ventilating sash it will be appreciated that it can be used in many other ways, and the glass may be slid into place supported by stops and the tubing inserted to fix it in position.

I claim:

1. In a greenhouse structure a sash therefor, said sash including a hinge plate and a closure plate connected by a plurality of muntin bars, said muntin bars having opposed U-shaped channels supporting lights of glass, flexible molding on the edges of said lights of glass, said channels being larger than the thickness of said glass and said molding, a supporting rib on said closure plate abutting the bottom edge of said lights of glass and a flexible member inserted in said channels between said molding and the top of said channels to position said glass in place and to prevent leakage.

2. In a pivoted glass supporting structure including a plurality of rows of lights of glass, a hinge plate at the upper end thereof, a closure plate at the lower end thereof, a plurality of muntin bars between said rows of glass and supporting said glass, said muntin bars consisting of elongated members having a central portion and a plurality of arms defining U-shaped channels, the shoulders of said arms forming a groove in the upper face of said muntin bar, the lower end of said muntin bar being cut away to allow the top of said muntin bar to overlap said closure plate and to form a shoulder abutting the end of said closure plate, a bolt through said closure plate and said muntin bar with a nut secured in the groove defined by said shoulders.

3. A glass supporting structure including a hinge plate and a closure plate, a plurality of muntin bars connecting said hinged plate and said closure plate, glass supporting channels in said muntin bars, said channels being larger than the thickness of the glass to be supported, a rib on said closure plate whereby the glass may be slid into said channels and supported by said rib and resilient means for sealing said glass in said channels after it is put in place said resilient means including flexible molding on the edges of said glass and an independent resilient tubing between said molding and the top of said channels.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,558,296 Schaub Oct. 20, 1925 2,147,784 Christal Feb. 21, 1939 2,386,151 Trautvetter Oct. 2, 1945 2,642,018 Weeber June 16, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 672,623 Great Britain May 21, 1952 147,852 Netherlands Feb. 16, 1953 

